I live in Manchester. I am influenced by LS Lowry and Arthur Delaney, Northern artists. My mother and sister also paint, and I have included some of their paintings. I started out as a naive-pictorial artist, painting nostalgic trams from the past (there is a gallery of these) and as I have developed, I have become more pictorial, but I still have some naive elements in my work. Recently, I have been concentrating on portraiture, and I look for a facial expression in the subject which is interesting and can demonstrate an aspect of that person's character and psychology, perhaps also their current mood.

I think that a certain facial expression is more interesting visually than an expressionless though accurately painted face. I think it is important to display emotion in a person's face through their expression. This can make a portrait much more than a copy of someone's likeness, and opens a window on the person's character, personality and mood, as well as their appearance.